Ethics Group Internship Program

The Ethics Group interns program engages undergraduate and graduate students in a learning experience that explores medical ethics issues and the formation of ethics policy. The program is designed to complement academic study in the field of medical ethics.

Participants must be enrolled in an academic program receiving academic credit at the time they serve as an intern.

Participants receive course credit for their work in accordance with their academic program requirements. In lieu of course credit, participants may secure written notification that their academic program recognizes the internship as contributing to the student’s academic goals.

Intern positions are at the AMA Headquarters in Chicago.

Internships are part-time, unpaid positions.

Interns are afforded a learning environment that provides support for ongoing Ethics Group projects and initiatives. By conducting research on various issues pertinent to medical ethics, students gain a better understanding to the many facets of medical ethics. Interns:

Research legal, medical, or ethics literature and other resources and organize and summarize research material.

Contribute to the formation of ethics policy that shapes the AMA’s Code of Medical Ethics.

Have the opportunity to attend faculty seminars and interact with a diverse range of professionals working in bioethics at a professional medical association.

Observe CEJA council meetings and other AMA organizational meetings.

To be considered, students should submit a resume, a cover letter, and a short writing sample illustrative of ethics or health-related work or a 500-word explanation of your interest in bioethics and your desire to obtain an internship at the AMA to Thomas Wagner.

Applicants will be contacted only if they are qualified for an interview.

Deadlines and term dates

Fall internship

Applications due:early July

Term dates:early September through mid December

Winter/Spring internship

Applications due:early November

Term dates:mid January through late April

Summer internship

Applications due:late February

Term dates:early May through mid August

Summer 2015 Interns

Tobin Klusty is a law student at DePaul University College of Law. He received his BA in Political Science at Michigan State University. His interest in health law developed from his internship under Michigan’s former State Representative Kate Segal. Tobin’s main focus as a DePaul College of Law Summer Scholar is to research the Code of Medical Ethics’ legal consequences. Through his research, Tobin hopes to foster awareness of the legal impact the healthcare system has on civil rights.

Stephanie Bi is a rising fourth year undergraduate at the University of Chicago majoring in Biological Sciences and English Language and Literature. Stephanie is passionate about medicine, health policy, and broadly, the intersection of the humanities and natural sciences. She hopes to attend medical school in the future and aspires to be a physician-writer. This summer, Stephanie is excited to be exposed to a breadth of complex medical ethics topics relevant to contemporary society and to learn how the AMA shapes policy surrounding them.Winter/Spring 2014-15 InternsKieran Holzhaueris a medical student at University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago. She received her BA in Anthropology at Washington University in Saint Louis. Kieran plans to practice primary care while incorporating medical anthropology research. She hopes to use this opportunity to learn more about how the AMA’s ethics team shapes medical culture and to delve further into the ethics of cultural competence.